'We want our town back': Retailer tells of PTSD as National MPs hit out over crime

A Rotorua retailer has told of suffering post-traumatic stress disorder after violent robbers struck his business six times in 18 months.

Maz Kumar says the raids have affected his mental health and taken a toll on his family. "Not only do I not know if the business is going to be here next year, I don't know if I'm going to be."

Kumar's comments come as Lakes councillor Conan O'Brien described Rotorua as being "used and abused" and "under siege".

They both made their comments at a National Party public meeting on law and order on Thursday night.

Rotorua MP Todd McClay and National police spokesman and former Rotorua police officer Mark Mitchell told the audience how crime had increased over the past five years, police were stretched and criminals faced few consequences.

In response, Police Minister Ginny Andersen said in a statement yesterday that the government had announced measures to crack down on repeat youth offenders, including a new offence to increase consequences for repeat ram-raiders, and was introducing new aggravating factors for court sentencings.

Kumar, who said after the meeting that he did not want his business named for fear of further victimisation, told the audience there had been six violent robberies of the business in the past year and a half.

"You believe now you're not wanted to run a business by this government. I don't want to raise my kids in this country any more."

It had affected his mental health and he had been diagnosed with post-traumatic disorder.

Kumar said the attacks also impacted his family. When the phone rang at night, his daughter used to say, "Did the bad men come back?"

Now she looked at him and said nothing, he said.

O'Brien said the city had been "used and abused" as an "experiment lab".

"I beg you, we need an action plan, we are under siege."

McClay and Mitchell believed part of the reason was a stretched and limited police force.

McClay, using police data from the past five years, provided statistics on rising crime in Rotorua.

Assaults had gone up 30.5 percent, sexual assaults were up about 40 percent, robbery went up by 42 percent, and violent crime victimisations had increased 95 percent, he said.

McClay also said that retail crime was up 180 percent, with 1750 incidents, and ram-raids were up 1028 percent.

He told the meeting he heard about ram-raids, aggressive shoplifting, targeting of vulnerable shopkeepers and their families, loitering, begging, aggression, harassment and intimidation in the CBD.

"Rotorua didn't used to be like this and this pilot programme we've seen run in our city and other cities around New Zealand has failed."

Speaking to Local Democracy Reporting after the meeting, he said he was referring to how Rotorua was used to trial motels as emergency housing, as well as violent criminals being "left in the community".

He told the meeting: "I think we need to send a very clear message that we want our town back and that the National government will give police permission to clean Rotorua up".

Shop owners had needed to protect themselves, he said, by such means as the use of bollards and fog cannons. "Their shops are like a warzone."

The Retail Crime Prevention Programme was set up last year after a post-pandemic spike in ram raids and retailers were able to seek funding for protection including fog canons and security systems. The government put about $15 million into it.

Mitchell said he would support a council-made public safety plan that addressed local issues.

The council is developing a community safety plan with a strategy to be finalised in the coming months.

Mitchell outlined previously announced National policies such as banning gang patches and insignia in public and providing police with more tools for dealing with gangs.

He also spoke of its policies to crack down on youth offending, such as young offender military academies for 15- to 17-year-olds.

Andersen said in her statement that the level of crimes such as retail and youth offending was unacceptable.

"I know that New Zealanders are fed up with this level of brazen offending - and so am I.

"That's why, last week, the government announced a range of measures to crack down on repeat youth offenders, including introducing a new ram-raid offence to increase consequences for young repeat ram-raiders.

"We are also introducing two new aggravating factors at sentencing, one for an adult using a young person to commit a crime, and one for young people posting their crimes to social media - which will mean tougher consequences for these offenders."

Andersen said the government was empowering police to take greater action against young ram-raiders and giving police an additional $26m so they could prosecute more offenders.

"The government will continue to invest in successful programmes that break the cycle of crime while making sure there are serious consequences for repeat offenders who continue to break the law."

Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air